A history of presidential assassinations and attempts

Four U.S. presidents have been assassinated, but there have been many more attempts, here's a look:

Photo: Julia Ward Howe

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Target: Andrew Jackson

January 30, 1835:

Just outside the Capitol Building, a house painter named Richard Lawrence aimed two pistols at President Andrew Jackson, but both misfired. Lawrence was apprehended after Jackson beat him severely with his cane. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1861.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday at approximately 10:15 p.m. Lincoln was shot once in the back of his head by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and two guests. Major Henry Rathbone tried to stop Booth from escaping but in return was massively stabbed in his chest and slashed in his arm reaching his bone; by Booth. Soon after being shot, Lincoln's wound was declared to be mortal. Lincoln died the following day at 7:22 a.m.

Booth was tracked down by Union soldiers and was shot and killed... Photo-1073286.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Assassinated: James A. Garfield

July 2, 1881:

The assassination of James A. Garfield took place in Washington, D.C., fewer than four months after Garfield took office. Charles J. Guiteau shot him twice, once in his right arm and the other in his back, with a .442 Webley British Bulldog revolver. Garfield died 11 weeks later, on September 19, 1881, at 10:35 p.m., of complications caused by infections.

July 2, 1881: The assassination of James A. Garfield took place... Photo-2523917.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Killer: Charles Guiteau

The brains of assassin Charles Guiteau, are kept drawer next to the cabinet that contain a section of Garfield's spine at the National Museum of Health and Medicine on Thursday Jan. 12, 2006, in Washington. The specimens are among thousands of objects, many ghoulish, collected by the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C., which is dedicated to chronicling the history and practice of medicine over the centuries.

The brains of assassin Charles Guiteau, are kept drawer next to the cabinet that contain a section of Garfield's spine at the National Museum of Health and Medicine on Thursday Jan. 12, 2006, in Washington. The ... more

The assassination of William McKinley took place at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York. McKinley, attending the Pan-American Exposition, was shot twice in the abdomen by Leon Czolgosz, a self-proclaimed anarchist. The first bullet ricocheted off either a bullet-proof button or an award medal on McKinley's jacket and lodged in his sleeve but the second shot pierced his stomach. McKinley died eight days later, on September 14, 1901, at 2:15 a.m because the doctors forgot to drain his wound of infections before sewing the wound shut.

shows a bullet fragment and where the bullet hit him which was fired by Giuseppe Zangara in an assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 7, 1933. "This is the piece they got out," he said, "But there are a couple of more pieces still in. I'm feeling fine, though." The bullet entered over his left eye and exited over his left ear.

Pending the independence of Israel, the Zionist Stern Gang was believed to have sent a number of letter bombs addressed to President Harry S Truman and high-ranking staff at the White House. The Secret Service had been alerted by British intelligence after similar letters had been sent to high-ranking British officials and the Gang claimed credit. The mail room of the White House intercepted the letters and the Secret Service defused them. At the time, the incident was not publicized. Truman's daughter Margaret confirmed the incident in her biography of Truman published in 1972. It had earlier been told in a memoir by Ira R.T. Smith, who worked in the mail room.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy took place in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally wounded by a sniper's bullets in his neck and head while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Although he was not formally declared dead until a half-hour after the shooting, he effectively died instantly.

, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza, was arrested shortly after at the Texas Theater. At 11:21 a.m. Sunday, November 24, 1963, while he was handcuffed to Detective Jim Leavelle and as he was about to be taken to the Dallas County Jail, Oswald was shot and fatally wounded in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub operator who said that he had been distraught over the Kennedy assassination.

, accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, reacts as Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby, foreground, shoots at him from point blank range in a corridor of Dallas police headquarters, in this Nov. 24, 1963 file photo.

planned to kill President Richard Nixon by crashing a commercial airliner into the White House. He hijacked the plane on the ground by force, and was told that it could not take off with the wheel blocks still in place. After he shot the pilot and copilot, an officer shot Byck through the plane's door window. He survived long enough to kill himself by shooting. These events were portrayed in the film The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

On the northern grounds of the California State Capitol, Lynette Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, drew a Colt M1911 .45 caliber pistol on President Gerald R. Ford when he reached to shake her hand in a crowd. She had four cartridges in the pistol's magazine but none in the firing chamber. She was quickly restrained by Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf. Fromme was sentenced to life in prison, but was released from custody on August 14, 2009 (2 years and 8 months after Ford's death).From Wikipedia

September 5, 1975: On the northern grounds of the California... Photo-5100190.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Perpetrator: Squeaky Fromme

U.S. Secret Service agents put handcuffs on Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme after she pointed at President Gerald Ford in Sacramento. Fromme, a devoted follower of the infamous Charles Manson, wearing a red robe, stepped out from behind a tree and pointed a loaded pistol at the President.

U.S. Secret Service agents put handcuffs on Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme after she pointed at President Gerald Ford in Sacramento. Fromme, a devoted follower of the infamous Charles Manson, wearing a red robe, ... more

looks out the window of a U.S. marshal's car in San Francisco, seen in this Dec. 16, 1975, file photo, on her way to the federal court where U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti accepted her plea of guilty to the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.

Sara Jane Moore looks out the window of a U.S. marshal's... Photo-2374935.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Shot: Ronald Reagan

March 30, 1981:

As President Ronald Reagan returned to his limousine after a speech at the Hilton Washington Hotel in the capital, Reagan and three other men were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr.. Reagan was struck by a single bullet which broke a rib, punctured a lung, and caused serious internal bleeding. He was rushed to nearby George Washington University Hospital for emergency surgery and was then hospitalized for about two weeks. Upon release, he resumed a light workload for several months as he recovered. He was the first sitting president to survive being shot in an attempted assassination.

Press secretary James Brady was wounded in the attempt on the president's life. His name became synonymous with the gun control movement as Brady dedicated the rest of his life to lobbying for reform. Brady died in 2014, his death ultimately ruled a homicide stemming from lingering health issues related to the shooting.

March 30, 1981: As President Ronald Reagan returned to his... Photo-1096825.72596 - Connecticut Post

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The aftermath

John Hinckley

is wrestled to the ground in this March 30, 1981 file photo after he slipped in behind cameramen, fired his weapon between them.

John Hinckley

is wrestled to the ground in this March 30, 1981 file photo after he slipped in behind cameramen, fired his weapon between them.

Photo: RON EDMONDS

John Hinckley is wrestled to the ground in this March 30, 1981... Photo-2173241.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Shooter: John Hinckley

John Hinckley

was immediately subdued and arrested at the scene. Later, he claimed to have wanted to kill the president to impress the teen actress Jodie Foster. He was deemed mentally ill and was confined to an institution. Besides Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded in the attack. All three survived, but Brady suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled.

John Hinckley was immediately subdued and arrested at the scene.... Photo-1282834.72596 - Connecticut Post

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Shooter: Francisco Martin Duran

October 29, 1994:Francisco Martin Duran

fired at least 29 shots with a semi-automatic rifle at the White House from a fence overlooking the north lawn, thinking that President Bill Clinton was among the men in dark suits standing there (Clinton was inside.) Three tourists, Harry Rakosky, Ken Davis and Robert Haines, tackled Duran before he could injure anyone. Found with a suicide note in his pocket, Duran was sentenced to 40 years in prison

shown with Harry Rakosky of San Antonio, Texas, left, and Ken Davis of Hagerstown, Maryland, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Nov. 8, 1994. The president met with both men who helped subdue alleged White House gunman Francisco Martin Duran.